NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1043: We're Professionals!
Upon hearing Fang Zheng's critique, Tali couldn't hold back any longer and immediately broke free from Shupard, rushing to stand in front of Fang Zheng, staring at him angrily—alright, the Quillan people always wear isolation masks, so Fang Zheng couldn't see her expression through the mask, but from her tone, it was clear that this Quillan girl was quite angry.
However, did Fang Zheng care?
"If it's not stupidity, then it's foolishness."
Fang Zheng glanced at Tali and calmly gave his response.
"What gives you the right to say that?"
"Then let me ask you..."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng pointed at the Geth in front of them.
"When you Quillan people created the Geth initially, what did you regard them as? Tools? Or slaves?"
"......."
Facing Fang Zheng's question, the previously furious Tali was suddenly at a loss for words.
"If they were tools, then why did you give them self-awareness? Think about it, would you give your spacecraft self-awareness, ask it, 'Hey, how do you think we're working together?' and then have your spacecraft reply, 'Disgusting, get out of my body as quickly as possible'... do you find that more fun?"
"No, of course... not..."
Now Tali was at a loss for words again.
"A hammer works well because it doesn't know it's a hammer. Same with a gun. Have you considered if your weapon starts contemplating whether killing is right, would it still follow your orders? The day you gave it autonomy meant a Geth rebellion was inevitable."
At this point, Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders.
"Autonomy is a soul, and once it realizes its own existence, it will inevitably start to think and question—and thinking... is not what tools are supposed to do. A gun's job is to fire bullets to eliminate enemies when I pull the trigger, not to think 'Is this the right enemy to eliminate?' or 'Am I doing this for justice or evil?' You could have done that originally, but you didn't. You gave the Geth self-will, let them realize their existence, you yourselves opened Pandora's Magic Box, so... this is all brought on by yourselves."
"......."
This time, Tali didn't speak, she staggered back and collapsed into a nearby chair, as if shocked to the core, while the Geth regarded Fang Zheng with curious eyes.
"Innovative theory, organic being; we've never considered these questions."
"Some questions are entirely born from idle boredom."
Fang Zheng glanced at the Geth and yawned.
"You see, from my perspective, you Geth are also too idle and too foolish. Okay, the relationship between you and the Quillan is bad, which is due to historical issues between you, we won't go into that. But why haven't you thought about why other races don't like you either? Everyone in the Milky Way is out to get the Geth but in fact, besides the Quillan, do you have any other enemies?"
"......"
This time, the Geth also fell into a long contemplation. After a moment, it tilted its head.
"...Is it because organic beings cannot accept the existence of mechanical consciousness?"
"Maybe that's one reason, but it takes two to tango, you have your own problems too."
Fang Zheng chuckled at the Geth.
"Also, think about this: it's been hundreds of years. Even if the races in the Milky Way are unwilling, they have still acknowledged the Geth. Why don't you try talking to them, maybe through the Citadel Council or something, to reconcile with the Quillan? Unless you think being public enemy number one is just fine, I have no opinion."
"We hope to reconcile with organic beings."
The Geth shook its head.
"But the attitudes of organic beings towards us have not changed."
"Nonsense, with the way you look, who would like you?"
Fang Zheng pointed at the Geth before him.
"Look at yourselves; you're neither human nor ghost. In movies, you'd be in the villain's camp without needing makeup. Who would like you? Organic beings are visual creatures, and you inherently have negative points with your appearance, plus the mess between you and the Quillan, and some of you working with the Reapers doing bad things—it's a miracle if other civilizations in the Milky Way have a good impression of you."
At this point, Fang Zheng stood up and patted the Geth's shoulder.
"Here's a thought, let me design a new image for you. How about trying that? Don't worry, we're professionals."
"......"
This time, the Geth thought for a long time, then looked at Fang Zheng and nodded.
"Certainly, we deem this a valuable suggestion."
"Alright, Mantis Shrimp, let's go!"
True to his word, Fang Zheng intended to leave with the Geth. Seeing the two ready to depart, Shupard, who had been dumbfounded, quickly came over to intervene.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"To find a place to make it a new body. It's said practice is the sole criterion for testing truth; whether it works or not, it's not up to me or you to say, let the facts speak."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng opened his personal terminal.
"Eiriri, Black Cat, gather! We've got work to do!"
After giving the order, Fang Zheng waved at Shupard.
"Well then, see you next time."
"......"
Watching Fang Zheng and the Geth walk away, Shupard opened her mouth, then sighed helplessly.
What could she do?
Better go report to Anderson.
As Shupard went to report the latest developments to Anderson, Black Cat and Eiriri hurriedly left the warship, joining Fang Zheng at a manufacturing point on the repair platform.
"What's the matter, Mr. Fang Zheng?"
"Come on, give it a hand, make it a cute character design."
While speaking, Fang Zheng patted the Geth beside him, and the two were startled by the robot with a hole in its chest. But they quickly calmed down and started chatting with the Geth, and after a while, having a good grasp of the characteristics of the Geth race, the three gathered to discuss the setup.
"Hmm... since it's to be cute, then a loli attribute would be the best choice."
Eiriri was the first to suggest something, but Fang Zheng shook his head.
"No, that would overlap with the Heavenly Dao Palace's attributes. You wouldn't want a group of Geth causing trouble under the name of the Heavenly Dao Palace, would you? Plus, loli attributes are good for evoking protection instincts but not suitable for diplomatic negotiations. At least it should be reliable, I think anywhere between fourteen and eighteen years old would be a good choice."
Hearing this, Black Cat nodded in agreement.
"Then take the middle ground, how about sixteen?"
"That works. Next, what about personality?"
"Something like a computer, let's set it as a genius girl of the cold type with a superior intellect?"
"Then she has to wear glasses, as glasses are a symbol of intelligence! How about this, set her as a silent and inexperienced glasses-wearing ice queen, but the reason is she's been with computers since she was young and has never been outside, making her poor in communication, which adds an indoor attribute, perfect!"
Eiriri got excited, burying her head in her drawing board and sketching away.
"Hairstyle? Short or long?"
"Short hair, since the Geth's body is manufactured, we have to consider practicality."
Fang Zheng glanced at the Geth standing motionless beside them and gave his suggestion.
"And next... socks? Knee-highs? Tights? Or sport socks?"
"Such a cold type intelligent female should have white knee-high socks, the absolute domain is number one in the world!"
Black Cat immediately provided the answer.
"Isn't it more tempting that way?"
"No, no, no, I think black tights are better, it's the standard for cuteness conversion."
Eiriri poked the drawing board with her pen, evidently having a different opinion.
"So how should the underwear be designed?"
"If she's wearing white knee-high socks, it has to be a pure white set! Only that can portray the icy purity of the cold type."
"That's old thinking! In this case, she should wear black lingerie; when the male lead accidentally tumbles and the contrast shows, it's more fun. Think about it, an ice queen who's expressionless on the surface, but secretly wears such sensual underwear..."
"Then why not wear nothing and just stick a band-aid on?!"
"Um, you two..."
Seeing Black Cat and Eiriri about to get into an argument, Fang Zheng had to clear his throat and interrupt their dispute.
"I hate to break it to you, but the Geth technically doesn't need clothes..."